Facebook is planning to build a Twitter competitor app. Threads
Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is to introduce Threads, a Twitter-rivalling microblogging software, only days after Twitter CEO Elon Musk drew flak for placing a temporary limit on how many messages users may read on the social networking platform.
Threads is set to be published on Thursday and will allow users to keep their Instagram followers while keeping the same username, according to a listing on Apple’s App Store.The launch is a direct assault to Twitter, which has been embroiled in multiple problems since Musk purchased the business for $44 billion in 2022.Last week, the Tesla billionaire unveiled a slew of new limits on the app, including a cap on the number of tweets users may see every day, sparking outrage from many users.
While user counts on other microblogging services such as Mastodon and Blue Sky have increased after Musk’s acquisition, neither has been able to match Twitter.
However, Instagram already has hundreds of millions of registered users and a track record of launching new features based on the success of other social media companies.In response to the growing popularity of Snapchat, Instagram implemented a feature called “stories” in 2016, or user uploads that disappear after a certain length of time.Recently, the company’s short-form video feature “Reels” has attempted to address this issue.
Threads’ introduction offers a genuine challenge to Twitter under Musk, whose efforts to generate income and remake the network in his own image have been heavily criticised.He lay off almost 80% of the company’s employees after acquiring it late last year and restored a number of banned accounts, including that of former US President Donald Trump and conservative satirical news site Babylon Bee.
Concerned about a perceived increase in dangerous content on the network, hundreds of advertisers suspended spending with Twitter, and internal papers obtained by Reuters revealed that the platform’s most active users were getting alienated.A Reuters request for comment on a comparable launch on the Google Play Store was not immediately responded to. Reuters reached out to Twitter for comment.
